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Rating:
A twenty-year-old girl, a guitar, a story to tell; this “Sprained Ankle” presents itself to the listener with all the thin sparseness suggested by its cover. Julien Baker, born in '95, looks at us with a melancholy smile that almost lays out a statement of intent: this album is her adolescence, recounted in just under 30 minutes with merely 9 songs at her disposal.
To do so, the young singer-songwriter from Memphis makes use of a disarming sincerity but, above all, great lyrical sensitivity.
The lyrics of this album are indeed a small wonder, especially if coming from the pen of someone so young, and I recommend anyone reading this review to find them in order to fully appreciate the potential of this debut record.
Right from the opening track, “Blacktop”, the stylistic tone is clear to us; the song slowly picks up, amidst basic guitar arpeggios and the story of a car accident involving the singer-songwriter, almost suspended in a parallel world, where a blood transfusion is likened to Christian communion.
“A saline communion that I've held like a séance.”
It is precisely the feeling of being transported into another world that, track after track, this record evokes in the listener.
What strikes most is the great maturity with which the themes of the tracks are imbued. The death of friends, drug dependency is confessed to the listener with tremendous writing talent, often resorting to religious allegories (Baker not coincidentally cites mewithoutYou as her favorite band.)
“All of my friends live in a plastic bag,
walking around, jumping the traintracks,
over the fence, veins all black”
It must be said, the record flows by all too quickly. After a handful of great tracks and perhaps a couple of lesser episodes, we find what is undoubtedly the best song on the album: “Vessels”.
Upon elegant post-rock-like guitar embroideries, which build up a slow and evocative pace, the singer lays out her most intimate monologue, almost a prayer.
“Tell me in thin paper about your love.”
“Sprained Ankle,” like any debut album, is certainly not without its flaws. A certain repetitiveness, especially in its central part, of musical structures, does not, in my opinion, compromise the overall listening experience, however.
The influences cited by Baker (Death Cab For Cutie, Elliot Smith) are present and noticeable, and only add to the value of the tracks.
These are tied together by various common factors: the aforementioned lyrics, the singer's sweet yet always sincere vocals that convey them well, and a guitar that makes extensive use of loops and reverbs (I recommend finding some live performances in this regard)
The review is excessively lengthy, I am aware, but I hope this will not discourage any potential readers from listening to this beautiful album.
Favorite tracks:
“Blacktop” “Vessels” “Go Home”
(Less) Favorite tracks:
“Everybody does”
Rating: 4/5
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